Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice

We have been eagerly awaiting Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice and this Easter weekend finally gave us the chance to see it.

We went in to the film skeptical about Ben Affleck as Batman, but we were actually pleasantly surprised but his performance, mostly because of his workout scene, the body he has built for this film is so incredible, Henry Cavill should be embarrassed that he is playing a superhuman and looks half the size of Bruce Wayne.

Tires chained to waists is all we will say. There are no images online so you will just have to go and see the film to appreciate this. It’s a step up from the Arrow workout from the season 1 pilot episode.

But we were so distracted in advance of the film about Ben Affleck being cast, that we didn’t actually think too much about the film and the storyline. At 151 minutes, it’s a long old film and boy does it feel it.

Now, I have always been a bit biased on Superman films, I am usually so excited just to have a new Superman outing that I ignore any flaws in the film (I am a bit fan of Superman Returns, perhaps because it had been such a long wait).

But that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t need this time. There is so much crammed into the film, a lot of storytelling, Batman’s back story, where he was when Superman appeared, what has Superman/Clark Kent been up to since the last film and why are these two enemies. Not only that, but the introduction of Wonder Woman and a brief glimpse at the other Justice League heroes, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg.

There isn’t as much action as we were expecting, perhaps because of all the storytelling. But when there is action, it is full-on. But it is certainly more Dawn of Justice, than Batman v Superman, as these two take most of the film to build up to their fight, but it is over rather quickly before they turn to the true villain they both have as an enemy – Lex Luthor and Doomsday.

Jesse Eisenberg is brilliant as Lex Luthor, he doesn’t play him comical, but pure, crazy evil. Luthor has done his research on the superheroes and metahumans in the world, and can probably also be credited with the bringing together of the Justice League.

This film does pay homage to the comic books, and if you are a superhero fan, but not that familiar with the comics you may be in for a shock.

With the brief glimpse of the other heroes we will soon see on our screens, this film has really set us up for the many films they have lined up over the next four years: The Justice League Part 1 (November 2017), Wonder Woman (June 2017), The Flash (March 2018), Aquaman (July 2018), The Justice League Part 2 (June 2019), Cyborg (April 2020).

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is in cinemas now. For more on the latest film, check out the interview with the cast and director Zack Snyder from Comparethemarket.com. We’d also like to thank them for sending us a limited edition Sergei Superman toy!

Image sources: rolling Stone, theweek, Screenrant, Movieweb

Batman v Superman

Too much storytelling, not enough action

Summary

Ben Affleck delivers an incredible performance and shuts up his critics (including us), but there is far too much storytelling here, meaning the action is all over far too quickly.